This is a fan’s personal view of AFC Bournemouth from the outside looking in. It reports on the daily official activities reported by the club and comments made by individual fans on social media and fanbase websites. Life as an AFCB fan is never dull. As a life-long supporter of the Cherries, it is the friendliness of the staff, fans and my enthusiasm for the club that inspired me to write this blog.

Welcome

The Vitality Stadium

Welcome to Vitality stadium or Dean Court as it is known locally.

The Vitality Stadium (formerly the Goldsands) is situated at Dean Court, Kings Park, Bournemouth, Dorset BH7 7AF. There are some 400 car parking spaces right next to the ground. They fill up pretty quickly by 2.00pm but after the match the access out of the ground can be painfully slow. last time I looked the cost was £2.50 for four hours £3.50 for up to six hours. For details on where else to park go to this official link which gives details on Harewood College and the Sovereign centre in Boscombe.

The club motto is "Together anything is possible."

Now if it is your first visit to Dean Court you'll be pleased to know that there is plenty to see around the ground although you will have to do a bit of walking of about 15-20 minutes if you want to see something of Boscombe of Springbourne which are the nearby suburbs. If you want the beach or the town centre then you'll need transport to get there and it will still take you 15 minutes to half an hour to get there depending on traffic.

Main reception.

The club's Main Reception on match day is also an entrance to the main stand for those with hospitality tickets. You'll find Cherry Chimes has a brick placed outside the front reception if you look really hard - see if you can find it. There is usually security men about so it is a safe place with everyone looking to enjoy the day. You'll need a pass to get up to the Top Floor Restaurant or the Bubbles Champagne bar but if you are a home supporter you can show your ticket to get in the 1910 bar where there is a selection of drinks and food on sale.

The path leads to the Ted MacDougall stand.

The new pedestrian walkway and car park leading to the stadium from the north of the ground, with exit to Boscombe in the other direction. Boscombe is a good direction for away fans to head for before the match if they want something to drink or eat away from the ground. It is not as scenic as it once was but there are some pubs that will allow away fans in if you travel in this direction and you'll find plenty to do at the Sovereign Shopping Centre which is a place where you can also park on match days.

View of the Temporary Ted MacDougall stand.

The Ted MacDougall covered temporary stand has a capacity of 2500. All of the seats in the temporary stand end, which is at the South end or the ground is now used for home fans with the exception of when the team plays large cup fixtures against Premier League sides when the opposition fans are usually situated there. For league games away fans are housed in a section of the East stand which usually has room for about 1500 away supporters.

The newly refurbished and extended club shop is probably the envy of most Championship clubs. AFCB have invested a lot of money in this facility which is now very spacious and is stocked with just about everything you can think of with the AFCB newly design crest of 2013. The revamp of the club shop was really an indication not only that the club had ambition to get higher in the leagues but also a sign that it knew that increased revenues were really going to be important going forward with the Financial Fair Play system and the need to try and balance the books.

Side view of the club shop.

Inside it is even more spectacular. Don't miss our fully automated working mannequin of Steve Fletcher in the shop, boxed in its glass case. Yes it does look rather strange and while it has not been seen in motion of late - probably the electricity is a bit expansive to keep it going - it does rather stand out as something a little different to what most clubs have in their shop.

Trophy cabinet.

AFCB's trophy cabinet still has place for a few more cups, so silverware is high on our agenda. I am not sure what happens to the manager of the month trophies, perhaps Eddie Howe keeps them on his desk or takes them home with him. He has won quite a few by now so he must have to look for some storage somewhere soon.

Bubbles Champagne Bar.

The Bubbles champagne bar for entertainment and corporate events with club shop below. I have only been in the Bubbles bar a couple of times mainly to have a look but I hear that it is not a bad place to hand out if you have some money to spend and a taste for the finer things of life!

The Jubillee Gates.

The Jubilee Gates give access to the ground between the Steve Fletcher North stand. There are plans for ground improvements at the club and I am hoping that if that does happen that some of the iconic pieces of the ground like the Jubilee gates are maintained or are incorporated in any new designs. It is always difficult when grounds are modernised and Dean Court has changed a lot since it was redeveloped more than a decade ago. I expect we can find that quite a few things may change again if more capacity is needed when the club has the need to expand capacity.

Corner of the East stand with a Hot radio banner

At the corner of the East stand you can just see the Jubilee Gates and to the right there are the turnstiles to the Family stand sections 9 and 8. The other Family sections 1 and 2 are back round the other side of the Main Reception. The red stanchions on the stand give the ground a bit of character and structural uniqueness, but it only takes about 5-10 minutes to go around the ground if you want to see all four sides.

View behind the Steve Fletcher stand, leading up to the Wall of Fame.

Away supporters are in for a treat visiting the ground from this direction as they can view past AFCB players and teams. You'll also find a service hatch on the right hand side here where hit drinks and snacks are served on match days.

We've made it to the Wall of Fame!I am just going to let you enjoy the Wall of Fame Area. I have asked the club if they would consider adding some QR codes on plaques next to the pictures so that everyone who visits could lean more about the players that are in the images and perhaps watch some video footage on their mobile phone when they scan in the codes. I have not heard anything back yet on the idea but I think it would be good to know more about the history of some of the players that have been proud to where the Cherries' shirt. You can see how close the houses are on this side of the ground to the stadium which of course makes expansion here very unlikely.

The Guardian 2015/16 Season preview

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